of debt in foreign hands risen by a not so modest 78% to a record $5.5 trillion of foreign holders, china number one followed by japan, bril disa, -- brazil, a assistant third. the cliff negotiations, speaker boehner's offer of a tax rate hike for those making more than a million a year, and speaker boehner reportedly also willing to postpone the debt ceili issues for at least a year, unclear how. ite house aides cite it as progress. joining us lou lehr man, american historian, and great american. >> great to be here always, lou. lo this is wonderful to watch. the equity market responds at just the suggestion that the two men are actually talking, if talking by one another. what are your thoughts? >> well, he fearand trem ling -- trembling that's spread all over the untry and the world about american falling off thecliff, and thus a recession in the united states, the biggest economy in the world, can cause a temporary spurt in activity; however, it shouldn't be forcen freeding this was the federal reserve's qe4 announcement, a trillion dollars in a single year, recreation of new money, m